I cover technology, entrepreneurs, billionaires and VC's for Forbes. When I get the chance I write about lifestyle and booze too. Previously I edited Forbes's front-of-the-book section "Leaderboard," and was a proud member of the Forbes 400 Wealth Team. Before that I worked on Wall Street. Feel free to follow me on Twitter: stevenbertoni and subscribe to me on Facebook.

Patron Billionaire John Paul DeJoria's Creative Plan To Feed America

John Paul DeJoria in Laurel County Kentucky via Jeff Rogers for Forbes

On a sunny Sunday in May John Paul DeJoria, the billionaire owner of Patron Tequila, lands his Hawker 1000 jet in the dry county of Laurel, Kentucky to visit his charity that’s helping people (many of them obese) grow more food.

This makes sense in poor, rural counties like Laurel, about 90 miles south of Lexington’s million dollar horse farms and Toyota Motors and Lexmark jobs (not to mention 15 miles from the first KFC). Down here in former coal country fresh, healthy meals are expensive to buy and hard to find. In parts of Appalachia, unemployment rates top 20% and obesity rates have bulged to 50% as many residents live on fast food diets that pack on pounds but lack nutrition.

DeJoria, 67, fights malnutrition with shovels and seeds, not handouts. In 2009, he donated $150,000 to start Grow Appalachia, a charity that teaches people how to cultivate, cook and can their own fruits and vegetables. Last season Grow Appalachia helped roughly 400 people raise 120,000 pounds of produce. This year DeJoria has given an addition $200,000 to finance another crop.

Grow Appalachia does more than simply fill bellies. The program provides sharable knowledge, connects remote communities and helps struggling people rebuild confidence and self respect. “I went home tired, filthy and muddy everyday but it was worth it,” says Melanie Gross who lost her office job in 2009. “You get a sense of pride and can say, ‘hey I did this.’”

Some of the same people who once hid their faces at local food banks are now passionate members of Grow Appalachia. Why? DeJoria’s program doles out skills and education, not freebies. “If you give someone a handout they feel like they’re receiving charity,” says DeJoria. “Give them a means to take care of themselves and they feel whole.”

DeJoria knows comebacks. He grew up poor in Los Angeles and joined Navy. Later he worked odd jobs and sold encyclopedias. In 1980, he cofounded hair care company, John Paul Mitchell Systems, with $700, slinging shampoo door-to-door while living along the Sunset Strip in a 20-year-old Rolls Royce. Today Paul Mitchell makes roughly $900 million in annual revenue.

DeJoria wasn’t done. In 1989, he expanded from hair care to hangovers, creating a market for high-end tequila with his booze brand, Patron. He sold more than 2 million cases of the pricey tequila in 2010. The two brands have helped DeJoria amass a fortune worth an estimated $4.2 billion.

DeJoria shares his success. His Food4Africa program feeds thousands of AIDS orphans daily. Other charities send Indonesian girls to school instead of brothels and save baby seals from Arctic hunters. When the recession hit America in 2008, he wanted to do more at home. Tommy Callahan, one of DeJoria’s vice presidents, grew up in the Kentucky mountains and told him about the economic struggles of the region. After consulting with Kentucky’s Berea College, the pair decided the most good would come from sustainable farming.

David Cooke, the director of Grow Appalachia for Berea College, uses established local organizations to coordinate gardens, distribute supplies and monitor progress. High school volunteers help the elderly, often widows, plant and harvest. Program graduates are each asked to teach skills to three new people. Extra vegetables are given to neighbors and sent to local food pantries. This year, some participating families plan to sell their produce at farmers markets. “If you gets folks skills and tools to work with, the natural entrepreneurs will sort themselves out,” says Cooke.

During his Sunday visit, DeJoria walks the muddy community garden in Keds (painted by a saloon student) and designer jeans, his salt and pepper ponytail hanging over a tuxedo jacket. Cooke and coordinator Wayne Riley are nervous. This is DeJoria’s first visit to a garden. Violent storms have left the ground soaked and the crops small. Making matters worse, it’s not just Sunday, but Mother’s Day, and most of the participating families are at church or celebrations.

DeJoria poses next to the handwritten thank-you signs, decorated rain barrels and the short but neat rows of potatoes and beans. Families arrive to share thanks and tears. Melanie Gross gives DeJoria a basket of homegrown salsas and preserves. Later he takes the tractor for a spin around the garden. Before he gets back on his jet, DeJoria pledges $500,000 more to the program.

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First of all, London is in Laurel County, not Harlan county. Secondly, we are going to look for a better way of saying overweight- really big, fat?!! But John Paul’s initiative is great and changing many lives. The best way to give a man food is not to hand him fish, but teach him how to fish.

I think what he is doing is fantastic! The problems within our country of too many on welfare, are many times because people are used to getting handouts. If we gave them skills, many would truly learn! This is a great way for him to help his country!